There have been numerous systems developed which are directed to alerting the driver of a vehicle that certain conditions exist, examples of which are a warning light on a vehicle's dash or instrument panel, the activation of an audible noise such as a siren or alarm, and the blinking of lights. However, these driver alert systems require unnecessary additional equipment to be added to the vehicle. Furthermore, these driver alert systems do not provide an effective alert system for drivers of emergency vehicles for instance, where sirens and/or lights may already be flashing, which causes background noise that conceals operation of the alert system. In such situations, the alert system may likely go unnoticed by the driver and the condition would persist, perhaps leading to accident or injury.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a driver alert system for alerting the driver of a vehicle that a predetermined condition or conditions exist, which would be perceivable to the driver notwithstanding the environment the vehicle is in.
This invention accomplishes such objective by activating the windshield wipers of the vehicle at a high rate of speed when certain predetermined conditions exist. Additionally, or alternatively, other operating mechanisms that already exist on a vehicle can also be activated to alert a vehicle occupant to the presence of such predetermined condition. For example, an audible alarm and/or a flashing light can also be activated in order to alert an operator of a vehicle. In the emergency response industry, when time is of the essence in responding to a call, it is important that several conditions are not present when driving the vehicle out of the fire station or garage for instance. It is not uncommon for fire trucks, as further example, to attempt to leave the fire station before all the doors on the vehicle are closed and secured, thereby causing the open door to hit a structure or another vehicle or person. Likewise, there exist other predetermined conditions that require monitoring and alerting of an occupant when detected in an undesirable state such as hood/lid closure, fluid levels, tire air pressure, coolant temperature and levels, and operation of emergency warning devices.
Additional objects, features and advantages of this invention are to provide an apparatus and method for alerting a vehicle occupant such as a driver, operator, passenger and/or pilot of the existence of detected predetermined conditions requiring remediation. Such objects, features and advantages are implemented on a vehicle, preferably using existing standard mechanical accessories that are already provided on the vehicle, such that a signaling indicia of the accessory is operative as an alerting signal to warn a driver, operator, passenger, pilot and/or user of such a condition in a manner that is extremely accurate, simple, economical and utilizes conventional mechanical accessories on the vehicle. Accordingly, implementation of such invention provides an apparatus which readily, easily and reliably alerts an operator of such detected predetermined condition(s) in a manner that is rugged, durable, of economical manufacture and assembly, adds safety, and requires little service and maintenance.